Illustrations – Dan McGuiness
Anh Do delivers yet another fun story in the fourth book of his Hot Dog! series. We get to hang out with best friends Hotdog, Kev (the cat) and Lizzie (the lizard) as Hotdog and Lizzie try to cheer up Kev. Kev is missing his mum. She lives on Rainbow Island and Kev hasn’t got enough money to visit her.
When the best friends find out about Game Day, where teams of three compete to win a trip to Rainbow Island (wow, that was convenient!), they decide to enter. Between them they’re sure they have the skills, speed and strength they’ll need to win.
I loved the teamwork shown in this book, the emphasis on helping people rather than winning at all costs and the message that being a good sport is important regardless of the outcome.
I always love Anh’s writing style and I adore the humour in the illustrations. In this book I chuckled at so many pictures, including the sloth riding a jet ski, Hotdog dressed in a hot dog 🌭 costume, Owlbert Einstein, and the brilliance of the measuring snake.
My favourite part was Kev (the foodie) explaining how food helps him focus on gymnastics:
‘When I’m on the bars I imagine I’m a kebab getting roasted on the grill.’
‘And when I twirl the ribbons, I imagine I’m decorating cupcakes with icing!’
Inspired and yummy!
Each book in this series has wonderful greyscale illustrations with splashes of one colour. This book’s colour is orange. It may seem as though I’m shouting at you but it’s a very loud orange (sorry, couldn’t help myself 😊). Imagine fluorescent, don’t look at this with a hangover bright and you’re close to the atomic ferocity I’m talking about. The orange not only highlights the wonderful illustrations but it also makes some of the words in the text pop. Kids will love it!
I can’t wait for my next Anh fix!
Once Upon a Blurb
Hotdog, Lizzie and Kev are training for GAME DAY! They want to win the big prize – an awesome trip to Rainbow Island! That’s where Kev’s mum lives!
They’ll need skill, speed and strength. Do they have what it takes to win?
Schizanthus Nerd 